


Time

by agentcalliope



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Airports, Alternate Universe, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, MORE LIKE FITZ FALLS ON JEMMA, Meet-Cute, STOP TALKING, actually more like bumping into eachother, literal falling, what
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-21
Updated: 2016-10-21
Packaged: 2018-08-23 20:50:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8342236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agentcalliope/pseuds/agentcalliope
Summary: Jemma’s running late for her plane and she's not really paying attention and she collides with someone--
and, suddenly, all time seems to stand still.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PeggyLeggy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeggyLeggy/gifts).



> HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY IZZY!!! I LOVE YOU!!

Jemma Simmons has made a grave miscalculation, and, as a woman who has very rarely made miscalculations, Jemma Simmons is _livid_.

 

“Daisy I have to call you back– I know I _know–_ but I just checked my ticket and apparently my flight doesn’t leave a quarter after 1.” Jemma huffs into the phone, sprinting through the packed crowds. “It leaves a quarter _before_ 1! Stupid mistake! Bye love you!” Weaving through the crowd with a skill she usually doesn’t possess, Jemma heads towards Gate 3.

 

Except, when she gets to Gate 3 it turns out to be boarding for _Minnesota_ , not Arizona, and the gate agent directions her to check the departures and arrivals display.

Jemma thanks the lady for her time with gritted teeth, because it isn’t this woman’s fault and no matter how much Jemma Simmons is frustrated and stressed she’s still _rational_.

Glancing down at her watch every couple of seconds, she watches the time tick down and makes a calculation—correctly—that she has approximately twenty-three minutes to locate her gate and board the plane before she’s stuck in airport limbo for god knows how long.

 

And that’s _before_ she gets lost.

 

“What is this, King Minos’ labyrinth?” Jemma scowls under her breath, shifting her bag higher on her shoulder. She twirls in a circle, the people and signs and everything else turning into a blur. Stopping, dizzy, she bounces on the balls of her feet and shakes her head, eyes closed.

_Remember what May says, Jemma.  Remember that if things aren’t going right you gotta pause, and then_ make _it right._

 

Inhaling and exhaling, she opens her eyes.  Glancing back down at her watch, accepting that she only has seventeen minutes left to find her plane and board, Jemma surges forward.

It’s like hitting a brick wall, and for the entirety she’s been rushing and feeling like time is too quick, this is the moment time decides to stand still.

 

A surprised, drawn out _oof! (her?)_ fills the air, and she’s falling back slowly, arms reached out in front of her, head thrown back. She closes her eyes and blindly searches with her hands outstretched, looking for something, _anything_ , to stop her descent. They make contact, and without thinking she curls them into fists, dragging whatever she’s grabbed onto down with her towards the ground.

 

When she hits the tiled floor with a thud, time picks up once more— and a heavy weight presses down on her making it hard to breathe.

 

Though it’s when she opens her eyes, and sees _his,_ that its all the more harder to breathe.  

Time stops once more, the heavy weight of this stranger lying on top of her in front of other strangers lifts, and Jemma forgets that she has, by now, only fourteen minutes to make her plane. His eyes are blue, pulling her in like the tides of the ocean and for the first time in her life Jemma thinks it wouldn’t be so bad to drown.

“Oh my _god_ are you okay?” The Stranger croaks, his ocean eyes widening and voice laced with concern, scrambling off of her.

“I am now.” Jemma replies dreamily. “Most _definitely_.”

(She is not acting like Dr. Dr. Jemma Simmons, and it could be because she was just thrown to the ground unexpectedly, but it could be something _else_ )

Hands grasp her own and with The Stranger’s help, she manages to stand. He starts dusting off her shoulders, profusely apologizing for running into her but all Jemma can notice is that not only are his eyes _blue_ , but they’re intelligent and kind and she doesn’t know why but she interrupts him—

“Jemma Simmons.” she says, shaking her head slightly to lift the fog, and smiles. “My name is Jemma Simmons.”

He stares at her outstretched hand, then back at her and again there’s that moment when time stands still.

Taking her hand in his, he responds. “Leopold Fitz. But you can call me Fitz.”

He pauses, grinning shyly.

“Actually, _please_ call me Fitz.”

She laughs and immediately feels woozy, everything falling out of place.

The Stra— _Fitz,_ reaches out and places his other hand on her shoulder, leaning in with his eyes darting between hers.

“I really am sorry for knocking into you, Jemma. I wasn’t paying attention, and—and are you sure you’re alright?”

Jemma nods vigorously. “Yes! I am!”

How much time does she have left? She doesn’t really remember, and the warmth of his hand on her shoulder and the warmth of his eyes watching her makes time stop for the third time that day.  
  


“Well, look at that!” Fitz nods towards her watch. “It’s noon.  I’m pretty starved, and I don’t have to leave for a bit. What are you doing? The least I can do after knocking you down is buy you some lunch—I mean, if that’s okay with you, of course. I don’t want you to do it just because I offered–”

“Fitz.” Jemma interrupts, tilting her head and giving him a smile. “I would like that very much.”

There’ll be other planes. There’ll be other planes and trips and best friends to visit Daisy isn’t going anywhere but Jemma isn’t sure that there’s going to be another Fitz.

She’s rational, and a _bloody_ scientist for god’s sake, but Jemma wonders if it was fate she had knocked into Leopold Fitz.

What a funny thing.

 

(Fitz doesn’t know how, but time seems to stand still when he’s with Jemma Simmons. They have lunch and even though they’ve just met it feels like he’s known her forever.  They sit in that airport restaurant and they talk and they laugh and Fitz doesn’t realize until hours after the fact that he’s missed his flight.

He’s rational, and a _bloody_ scientist, but Fitz wonders if was fate that he had knocked into Jemma Simmons.

What a funny thing.)


End file.
